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Uterine infection is a major problem in reproductive management, second only to inefficient estrous detection. Cows with uterine infection in the early postpartum period generally have lower conception rates at subsequent breedings. One large study conducted in Washington demonstrates that cows with severe uterine infection experienced an 8 percent reduction in first service conception rate compared with herdmates that were not infected. This effect would likely have been more severe if the...
Our objective was to determine the effectiveness of exogenous progesterone in the form of an intravaginal insert (controlled internal drug release, CIDR) in conjunction with an ovulation-synchronization protocol in lactating dairy cows. Cows received a Presynch protocol (two injections of prostaglandin F2α [PGF2α] 14 days apart) beginning 30 and 36 days in milk, respectively, in two herds. Cows were inseminated after the second Presynch injection when estrus was detected. Remaining...
Many dairy producers practice some crossbreeding, and the numbers increase every year. Motivating factors include a desire to improve fertility, survival, milk components, and calving ease. Some producers want cows smaller than mature Holsteins. Several large, long-term dairy crossbreeding experiments have been conducted in the United States in the past. Cows involved in previous projects were not the result of intensive selection programs for type and production that produced today’s purebred...
1. Establish standard operating procedures: Cows should be observed at times and at a location where they are likely to express estrus. Establish a hormone program to induce estrus in cows and heifers. The standard operating procedures: When‚ Where‚ Signs of Estrus Observed‚ Who to Notify should be followed by everyone that has the responsibility for observing cows for the expression of estrus. 2. Utilize records: All heat periods detected should be...
"I'm working harder than I ever have and am having more difficulty getting my cows pregnant." This quote from a Central Minnesota dairy producer reflects the thoughts of dairy producers throughout the country. It has been well documented that reproductive efficiency is on the greatest decline since the mid 1980s with services per conception and days open increasing. Most other countries have seen the same trend. So, why the decline? There are several factors that...
Which of the following factor(s) affect reproductive performance of dairy cows: a) milk production, b) bunk space, c) type of bedding used in the far off pen, or d) hoof trimming schedule? Stay tuned - you might be surprised at the answers. Troubleshooting reproductive performance in dairy herds can be very frustrating. It often appears that herds very similar in management styles have very different reproductive performance. Some recent studies conducted by University of Wisconsin...
Abortion in dairy cattle is commonly defined as a loss of the fetus between the age of 42 days and approximately 260 days. Pregnancies lost before 42 days are usually referred to as early embryonic deaths, whereas a calf that is born dead between 260 days and full term is defined a stillbirth. A low rate of abortions is usually observed on farms and 3 to 5 abortions per 100 pregnancies per year is often considered "normal." However, the loss of any pregnancy can represent a significant loss...
Introduction Trace minerals have long been identified as essential components in the diets of domestic livestock species. Included in the category of essential trace minerals (or microminerals) are chromium, cobalt, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium and zinc (NRC, 1996). With the essentiality of each of the trace minerals becoming clear, for ruminants it has become necessary to identify the amount of each element that would be necessary for the...
Recording herd health data could lead to strategies that would let you choose economically important genetic traits. In the last few years, dairy producers and the breeding industry have recognized health, well-being and long-term fitness of cattle as economically important. At the recent semi-annual open industry session of the Canadian Dairy Network's Genetic Evaluation Board, many of the papers presented and discussed focussed on reproduction and health traits. This work clearly...
A major factor limiting optimum reproductive performance on many farms today is the failure to detect estrus in a timely and accurate manner. Increases in herd size and milk yield have been implicated as contributors to the decreased reproductive efficiency experienced today. For example, during the past ten years the average Virginia DHI dairy herd has experienced a 35% increase in milking cows and a 20% increase in milk yield per cow without the same increase in additional labor force....
As the result of the January 2008 sire summaries, International Protein Sires (IPS) added five highly qualified sires to their proven lineup it was announced by Ron Sersland, President and CEO. No. 1 Red Holstein The pacesetter among the new IPS releases is 6HO1124 Tycoon-Red, the No.1 Red Holstein at +1657 TPI. Tycoon ranks very high among Red bulls at +2.11 type and +2.36 udder composite. This breed leader is exceptional for fitness traits achieving a...
Widespread use of AI around the world and selection for similar traits across dairy populations has reduced diversity of pedigrees of influential cows and bulls. The frequency of carrier to carrier matings for undesirable recessive characteristics has increased as relationships between cows in dairy herds and bulls in AI service has increased in recent years. The dairy breed societies in the United States have implemented good systems for identifying carriers of undesirable recessive...
Mastitis in your herd may be costing you more money than you think, suggests a study linking mastitis and poor reproductive performance in dairy cows. The average clinical mastitis case costs you, the producer, an estimated $150. This figure accounts for economic losses from discarded milk, antibiotic treatment, decreased lactation production and your time managing the treated animal. However, mastitis costs may go deeper than these obvious losses. Udder infections may be hampering...
In all the hoop-la over Fonterra's plan to bring in outside investment an announcement that could have as big an impact, if not more so, on the future of dairying has been barely noticed. It is a statement from farmer-owned dairy genetics company LIC that it will try the new technique of sexing semen. This allows farmers to choose to produce either female or male calves. Obviously, in an industry that runs on milk, more females are desired. The process that LIC - formerly known...
The greatest problem facing the dairy industry today, at primary production level, is the continuing decline in cow fertility. Low fertility leads to reduced milk yields, increased labour and veterinary costs, increased culling of cows due to failure to become pregnant and the resultant loss of income to dairy farmers. It is also implicated in the decreasing competitiveness of the Irish dairy industry, which results in increased numbers of people leaving dairy farming with negative...
The percentage of stillbirths has been steadily increasing but you can take steps to improve that rate on your farm. You'll soon be able to improve the chances of having a live calf on the ground-especially from a first-calf heifer-by looking closely at bull proofs for calf survival rates due to be published in early 2008. Recent numbers suggest that stillbirths have been rising for Canadian Holsteins, although the reasons still aren't clear. Canadian Dairy Network statistics...
Our thanks to the author and Conference Organisers, a Committee consisting of both University and Industry colleagues. The full paper will appear in the Conference Proceedings ('Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition - 2007', edited by Phil Garnsworthy and Julian Wiseman) published by Nottingham University Press in the autumn of 2007 www.nup.com ...
Dairy producers need to be aware of the cost of raising replacement heifers and find ways to reduce those costs. All our discussions so far have focused on dairy cows, but what about heifers? They eat, too! The costs of raising dairy heifer replacements represent 20 percent to 25 percent of the total costs of milk production. Benchmarks for the economics of raising dairy heifers, whether custom or home raised, provide opportunities for application to individual farm...
Our thanks to the author and Conference Organisers, a Committee consisting of both University and Industry colleagues. The full paper will appear in the Conference Proceedings ('Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition - 2007', edited by Phil Garnsworthy and Julian Wiseman) published by Nottingham University Press in the autumn of 2007 www.nup.com ...
A nutraceutical is defined as a product isolated or purified from feeds that is demonstrated to have a physiological benefit or provide protection against chronic disease. Indeed selenium (Se) is an essential nutrient in that selenium deficiency is associated with increased incidences of retained fetal membranes, clinical mastitis, calf mortality and increased milk somatic cell counts (SCC). Selenium supplementation in Se-deficient diets reduces the incidence of these clinical...